Official opening of Austrian office at Podgorica

18.11.2005

Branch of Belgrade Embassy - premises shared with Hungary

Podgorica, 17 November 2005 - A branch of the Austrian Embassy in Belgrade was opened at Podgorica, capital of Montenegro, today by Secretary General for Foreign Affairs Johannes Kyrle in the presence of numerous high-ranking Serb-Montenegrin and Hungarian guests. It is the second branch office of the Embassy in Serbia and Montenegro after the Austrian office established in Priština, the capital of Kosovo, back in 1999.

The branch at Pogorica, which is headed by Florian Raunig, will fulfil the tasks of a liaison office of the Austrian Development Cooperation and Cooperation with Eastern Europe (OEZA) and strengthen Austria’s presence in Montenegro in general. The Managing Director of the Austrian Development Agency, Michael Linhart, came to the Montenegrin capital for the opening.

The branch will share office premises with Hungary, which will also have an office in Podgorica and which was represented by State Secretary Márta Fekszi at the opening. At the opening ceremony Secretary General Kyrle described the common office as an "expression of the close relations between Austria and Hungary, two countries with a special interest in the developments in Serbia and Montenegro, and in South-Eastern Europe in general." "I am convinced that the joint location will result in far better opportunities for common activities and advantages for the service to be rendered to the citizens of our two countries in Montenegro," said Kyrle.

Before his journey to Podgorica Secretary General Kyrle held talks in Belgrade with representatives of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Serbia-Montenegro. Other items on his itinerary following the opening of the branch at Podgorica are a meeting with Foreign Minister Miodrag Vlahović and a visit to a school for tourism funded by OEZA in the port city of Bar.